Imagine the following scenario . . .

You?re playing away from home in hostile terrain and your team are in serious danger of being dismissed for an embarrassingly low total.

And then the inevitable arrives . . . it?s your turn to bat and you are a colt playing in your first Cup Match.

Sounds scary?

Well, this is exactly what happened to Somerset colt James (C Hicks) Swan at Wellington Oval in 1976.

The left-arm leg-break spinner, then 17, was promoted up the order as a night watchman by Somerset skipper Campbell Simons.

What happened next still echoes around the Somerset community to this very day.

?It was a decision that had to be made at the time. I was in good form that year and my skipper had confidence in me but I unfortunately I didn?t make any runs. But that?s just the way it goes,? Swan recalled.

?We had lost about five or six wickets and Parfitt (Clarence Parfitt) was on that year. I think he finished up with nine wickets. Anyhow, I arrived at the crease with Woodgate (Wendell Simmons) who was young also. It was quite an experience.

?My job was to try and stay there to the next day but unfortunately I faced one ball and then on the next my stumps were uprooted.?

Parfitt, Cup Match?s all-time leading wicket taker with 115, claimed nine for 47 during the ?76 classic at Wellington Oval which ended in a tame draw.

With a total of four colts poised to make debuts at the Oval tomorrow, Swan said words couldn?t describe what players experienced when making their first appearance in Cup Match.

In 1980 and then again in 2003, Charlie Marshall and Saleem Mukuddem scored centuries as colts ? both at Wellington Oval.

Swan added: ?You really don?t appreciate it until you walk out onto the field. During the first innings you are out there and the field and the crowd is roaring . . . that?s when you really begin to feel it.?

Swan?s late father, Charles (Buckjuice) Swan, is a former Somerset skipper while younger brother Charles jr also represented Somerset in the mid-summer classic.

Swan, who currently plays with First Division side Leg Trappers, represented Somerset in two classics, 1976 and again in 1988 ? both at Wellington Oval.

As for Somerset?s chances of defending the cup tomorrow and Friday, Swan said: ?I think it?s a good team. They have picked quite a few players who have the capability of going down and destroying St.George?s . . . that?s the way I look at it.

?As many bowlers as St.George?s might have, I still think Somerset will destroy them and I have a slight suspicion it?s going to come down to the slower bowlers. They are the ones who are going to make the biggest impact judging by the weather.?